A single roll of paper wasn't bit enough, so they decided to make their open big 170' x 220' piece using 17 rolls of paper joined together with double-sided tape. An experiment this large required that they go to Moffett Field and setup in one of the blimp hangers there.

Using the traditional technique of alternating folds length and width-wise, they were able to get eleven folds. They were able to get eight folds using their team of people. For the final three rolls, they had to roll in the industrial help: a Dynapac roller and a forklift.

OK. So it wasn't "square" :-)

What they couldn't get Superman's help to make a 12th fold? ;)

Try doing it with cardboard. You will eventually get to the material science problem behind it.

On 23 September 1999 NASA scientists lost the $100 million Mars Climate Orbiter because they instructed the craft in imperial (inches and feet) instead of metric (metres) measurements. It sent the probe, which was set up for metric data, off course and burning up in the Mars atmosphere.

The first decimal system was introduced in the 4th Century BC by the Sumerians of Mesopotamia, to whom the invention of writing is credited. They based their numerical system on powers of 60 subdivided into multiples of 10. It was from this system that Sumero-Babylonians developed the time system that we use today: each hour is divided into 60 minutes, which are divided into 60 seconds. However, they did not have a symbol for zero, which was introduced by Arabians only toward the end of the first millennium BC. It is thought that the zero could have been devised by Indian Hindu mathematicians because the concept of nothing was important in their early religion and philosophy.
Metric system introduced into Europe

In 1202, Italian mathematician Leonardo of Pisa - better known as Fibonacci - explained the decimal system to his European colleagues in his Book of the Abacus. Fibonacci's father was a customs officer in the North African town of Bugia, so Fibonacci grew up with the Moor education of the decimal system. English mathematician John Halifax would try to promote the decimal system to his countrymen in 1253. But it was only in the 16th Century that Simon Stevin, a quartermaster in the Dutch Army, presented the Western world a user-friendly way to convert to decimal fractions in his book "The Tenth" published in 1585.

In 1670, Gabriel Mouton, a theologian and mathematician from Lyon, France proposed the general use of the decimal system and suggested a standard linear measurement based on the length of the arc of one minute of longitude on the Earth's surface and divided decimally (by ten). A "metre" was defined as 1/10,000,000 of the distance on the earth's surface between the equator and either pole. Later the metre was redefined as the distance between 2 scratches on a bar of platinum-iridium alloy. In 1960, the metre was established in terms of an atomic standard, redefined in wavelengths of light. The metric system was given the official symbol SI for Systeme International d'Unites, the "modernised metric system."
Decimal system used in most countries

The decimal system is used in most countries, but not the USA. The system was made legal (but not mandatory) in the US by the Metric Act of 1866, and the US also was a signatory of the Treaty of the Metre in 1875. The US Congress passed the Metric Conversion Act of 1975 (Public Law 94-168) and established the US Metric Board, but did not set a target date for metric conversion. However, US companies are gearing toward the metric system, with all 4 major motor companies converting to the metric standard. The computer industry also uses the decimal system: your computer operates on the binary calculations of 1 and 0.

Interestingly, standardisation of the inch for worldwide use occurred only in 1958. (The inch was standardised worldwide as 25.4 millimetres exactly.) Prior to that the United States, Great Britain, and Canada each had their own definition of the inch, and in each case the inch was defined in terms of metric units, the only set of internationally-accepted measurement standards. A problem still exists for the foot, where the international foot (based on the 25.4 mm inch) and the survey foot (based on the 25.40005 inch) are both in use. Over 100 miles they differ by 32 cm, or over one foot.

The mile comes from the Latin "mille passus", based on the Roman Legion's 1,000 paces.

"Decimal" is the Latin word for "ten."

The word "metre" was adopted only in 1793 by the French Academy of Science, derived from the Greek word "metron", meaning "a measure." The metric system was adopted officially in France in 1799.
____________LETS BEGIN IN 2010

Five or ten years ago I was reading in "Sky and Telescope" and I saw something like this, written on a diagram dated about 1800 or so: 3h 16m 37s 22t 15f. In other words, back then, somewhere, they were apparently using "thirds" which (I guess) meant sixtieths of a second, and "fourths", which meant sixtieths of a third.
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Second, apparently, is the fear of failure, which is called kakorrhaphiophobia.

The fear of Friday the 13th is called paraskavedekatriaphobia.

There is of course a story of how fears developed, like fear for the number 13.

In pagan times, Friday was the luckiest day of the week because it was ruled by the planet Venus, the symbol of love and fortune. In fact, Friday is named in honour of Freya, goddess of Love. But for Christians, Friday has not been a good day. Adam and Eve were said to have eaten the forbidden fruit on a Friday and died on a Friday. Jesus was crucified on a Friday.

For centuries sailors refused to set sail on a Friday. It is told that when the reluctance of seamen to set sail on a Friday had reached such proportions that it interfered with naval operations, the British Admiralty decided to prove once and for all that it is a fallacy. They laid the keel of a new vessel on a Friday, named her H.M.S. Friday, and launched her on a Friday. On her first voyage, setting sail on a Friday, she was commanded by Captain James Friday. She left the harbour and nothing has since been heard of her or her crew. The identical story has also found its place in American lore.

The fear for traveling on a Friday continued until the early 20th century where in Europe bus and train travel was lowest on a Friday. But before you say "Thank Goodness, it's Friday!" consider that today, FBI statistics show, most robberies take place on a Friday.

Second, apparently, is the fear of failure, which is called kakorrhaphiophobia.

The fear of Friday the 13th is called paraskavedekatriaphobia.

There is of course a story of how fears developed, like fear for the number 13.

In pagan times, Friday was the luckiest day of the week because it was ruled by the planet Venus, the symbol of love and fortune. In fact, Friday is named in honour of Freya, goddess of Love. But for Christians, Friday has not been a good day. Adam and Eve were said to have eaten the forbidden fruit on a Friday and died on a Friday. Jesus was crucified on a Friday.

For centuries sailors refused to set sail on a Friday. It is told that when the reluctance of seamen to set sail on a Friday had reached such proportions that it interfered with naval operations, the British Admiralty decided to prove once and for all that it is a fallacy. They laid the keel of a new vessel on a Friday, named her H.M.S. Friday, and launched her on a Friday. On her first voyage, setting sail on a Friday, she was commanded by Captain James Friday. She left the harbour and nothing has since been heard of her or her crew. The identical story has also found its place in American lore.

The fear for traveling on a Friday continued until the early 20th century where in Europe bus and train travel was lowest on a Friday. But before you say "Thank Goodness, it's Friday!" consider that today, FBI statistics show, most robberies take place on a Friday.

Well I'm not scared of Friday and I enjoy Friday the 13th too, But not the movie of the same name as I'm not a fan of Horror Movies. :)
____________My Facebook, War Commander, Under Dog

I'm not a fan of TODAY's horror films either...slash and gore are not my idea of entertainment. I'm with you S.J.

Worldwide, 20,000 brands of beer are brewed in 180 styles, from ales, lagers, pilsner and stouts to bitters, cream ales and iced beers.

Beer has been a popular beverage for a long time. Babylonian clay tablets show detailed recipes of beer making in 4300 BC. Beer was also brewed by the ancient Chinese, Assyrians and Incas.

An Egyptian text of 1600 BC gives 100 medical prescriptions using beer. A few years ago, the New Castle Brewery in England brewed 1,000 bottles of Tutankhamun Ale from a 3,200-year old recipe found in the sun temple of Queen Nefertiti.

Commercial beer making was established in 1200 AD in present-day Germany. In 1506, the German Purity Law is issued, specifying that beer ingredients must only be water, barley, wheat and hops. Bottling of beer started in 1605.
____________...BETTER THE WORLD ~ PAY IT FORWARD...

Although a cow has no upper front teeth, it grazes up to 8 hours a day, taking in about 45 kg (100 lb) of feed and the equivalent of a bath tub full of water. A healthy cow gives about 200,000 glasses of milk in her lifetime.

A cow has four stomachs: the rumen, reticulum, omasum and abomasum. The rumen is the largest stomach and acts as a fermentation chamber. The abomasum is last of the four and is comparable in both structure and function to the human stomach.

With all its grazing and many stomachs, it is no wonder that cows are one of the main contributors to the hole in the ozone layer. Apart from CFC, the biggest culprit is hydrocarbon emissions from cars and cows. Yes, cows! Cows release some 100 million tons of hydrocarbon annually - by releasing gas. To give you an idea of how much gas a cow emits: if the gas of 10 cows could be captured, it would provide heating for a small house for a year.

But unlike what you think, cows release hydrocarbon mostly by burping.
Cow factoids

The average lifespan of a cow is 7 years. The oldest cow ever recorded was Big Bertha. She reached 48 in 1993. She also holds the record for producing 39 calves.
There are more than a billion cattle in the world, about 200 million in India.
Cows that are called individually by name and cows that are played classic music to provide more milk.
Twelve cows are known as a "flink."
____________LETS BEGIN IN 2010

A common type of distortion in CRT monitors in which horizontal and vertical lines bend inwards toward the center of the display. The distortion is most noticeable at the edges of the display.

The opposite of pincushion distortion is barrel distortion, in which horizontal and vertical lines bend outwards toward the edge of the display. A third type of distortion, called trapezoid distortion, occurs when vertical lines are straight but not parallel with each other.

Most monitors have pincushion/barrel controls that let you correct these distortions, and many monitors also include a trapezoid distortion control

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences was established in May 1927 as a non-profit corporation to promote the art of movie making. In the first year, the Academy had 36 members, with Douglas Fairbanks Sr as president. The first Academy Awards, now better known as the Oscars, were presented at a private dinner in the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, with less than 250 persons attending. Today, the Academy has over 6 000 honorary members - the Oscar Awards are viewed by more than a billion people on television.

The first television broadcast of the Oscars took place in 1953 - on black and white TV, telecasted throughout the US and Canada. Telecasting in colour begun in 1966, and since 1969, the Oscars have been telecast throughout the world. By the mid-1990s it was telecast in over 100 countries.

The first Oscars

At the first Acadamy Awards, held in May 1929, Best Director awards went to Lewis Milestone for Two Arabian Knights and Frank Borzage for 7th Heaven. The first award for Actor in a Leading Role went to Emil Jannings for his roles in The Last Command and The Way of All Flesh. The first Best Actress award was won Janet Gaynor for her roles in 7th Heaven, Street Angel and Sunrise. The first Best Picture award went to WINGS. All those films were screened in 1927. Those were the days of the silent movies, thus WINGS was the only silent to have won a Best Picture Oscar. It also featured Gary Cooper in a minor role. Swiss-born Jannings grew up in Germany and had a heavy German accent which, with the advent of sound in movies, basically put an end to his Hollywood movie career.

The most popular night in the world

The Academy Award ceremony basically was a non-public affair in 1927 and 1928. But it had created such public interest that the Oscar Presentation Night was introduced in 1929. Until 1954 the Oscars were presented mostly on a Thursday. From 1955 to 1958, they were presented on a Wednesday. From 1959 until 1998 the Oscars were, with a few exceptions, presented on a Monday night. Only since 1999 did the Awards ceremony take place on a Sunday (in March). In total up to 2005, the famous statuettes have been handed out on 32 Monday nights, 21 Thursday nights, 8 Wednesdays, 6 Tuesdays, 2 Fridays, once on a Saturday (1948), and four times on a Sunday.

In 1930, the Academy Awards were held twice: on 3 April and on 5 November. No ceremony was held in 1933. Since 1940 people have been kept on the edge of their seats with the familiar phrase "The envelope please."

The Envelope Please

The record for most acting nominations without a single win is shared by Peter O'Toole and Richard Burton with seven. The most nominated actors for Best Actor and Best Supporting Roles are Jack Nicholson (11), Laurence Olivier (10), and Spencer Tracy (9). No male performer has yet won three Best Actor awards.

Only one actress has won the Best Actress award four times: Katharine Hepburn is the only actress to have won the Best Actress award four times, for Morning Glory (1932/3), Guess Who's Coming to Dinner? (1967), The Lion in Winter (1968), and On Golden Pond (1981). In 1968 Katherine Hepburn was tied with and Barbra Streisand for the Best Actress award.

Anthony Quinn's performance as painter Paul Gaugin in Lust for Life (1956) is the shortest ever to win a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award. He was on screen for only 8 minutes. Judi Dench made the an equally short performance, winning Supporting Actress for her potrayal of Elizabeth I in "Sheakespeare in Love" (1999). More Oscar factoids

In 1997 James Cameron's Titanic received 11 Oscars, sharing the record of the most Oscars awards for a single film with William Wyler's Ben Hur (1959). The closest runner-up is West Side Story with 10 Oscars in 1961.
____________LETS BEGIN IN 2010

Although a cow has no upper front teeth, it grazes up to 8 hours a day, taking in about 45 kg (100 lb) of feed and the equivalent of a bath tub full of water. A healthy cow gives about 200,000 glasses of milk in her lifetime.

A cow has four stomachs: the rumen, reticulum, omasum and abomasum. The rumen is the largest stomach and acts as a fermentation chamber. The abomasum is last of the four and is comparable in both structure and function to the human stomach.

With all its grazing and many stomachs, it is no wonder that cows are one of the main contributors to the hole in the ozone layer. Apart from CFC, the biggest culprit is hydrocarbon emissions from cars and cows. Yes, cows! Cows release some 100 million tons of hydrocarbon annually - by releasing gas. To give you an idea of how much gas a cow emits: if the gas of 10 cows could be captured, it would provide heating for a small house for a year.

But unlike what you think, cows release hydrocarbon mostly by burping.
Cow factoids

The average lifespan of a cow is 7 years. The oldest cow ever recorded was Big Bertha. She reached 48 in 1993. She also holds the record for producing 39 calves.
There are more than a billion cattle in the world, about 200 million in India.
Cows that are called individually by name and cows that are played classic music to provide more milk.
Twelve cows are known as a "flink."

And I think, All Cows are Female, Steers/Bulls are Male and possibly color blind too(Males, not Females). Moooooo... ;)
____________My Facebook, War Commander, Under Dog

Although a cow has no upper front teeth, it grazes up to 8 hours a day, taking in about 45 kg (100 lb) of feed and the equivalent of a bath tub full of water. A healthy cow gives about 200,000 glasses of milk in her lifetime.

A cow has four stomachs: the rumen, reticulum, omasum and abomasum. The rumen is the largest stomach and acts as a fermentation chamber. The abomasum is last of the four and is comparable in both structure and function to the human stomach.

With all its grazing and many stomachs, it is no wonder that cows are one of the main contributors to the hole in the ozone layer. Apart from CFC, the biggest culprit is hydrocarbon emissions from cars and cows. Yes, cows! Cows release some 100 million tons of hydrocarbon annually - by releasing gas. To give you an idea of how much gas a cow emits: if the gas of 10 cows could be captured, it would provide heating for a small house for a year.

But unlike what you think, cows release hydrocarbon mostly by burping.
Cow factoids

The average lifespan of a cow is 7 years. The oldest cow ever recorded was Big Bertha. She reached 48 in 1993. She also holds the record for producing 39 calves.
There are more than a billion cattle in the world, about 200 million in India.
Cows that are called individually by name and cows that are played classic music to provide more milk.
Twelve cows are known as a "flink."

And I think, All Cows are Female, Steers/Bulls are Male and possibly color blind too(Males, not Females). Moooooo... ;)

First Heart, Liver, Kidney Transplant - December 3, 1989
The first simultaneous heart, liver and kidney transplant was done at Presbyterian-University Hospital.

The First Internet Emoticon - 1982
The Smiley :-) was the first Internet emoticon, created by Carnegie Mellon University computer scientist Scott Fahlman.

First Robotics Institute - 1979
The Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University was established to conduct basic and applied research in robotics technologies relevant to industrial and societal tasks.

First Mr Yuk Sticker - 1971
Mr Yuk was created at the Poison Center at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh after research indicated that the skull and crossbones previously used to identify poisons had little meaning to children who equate the symbol with exciting things like pirates and adventure.

First Night World Series Game - 1971
Game 4 of the 1971 World Series was the first night game in World Series history, a series that Pittsburgh went on to win, 4 games to 3.

First Big Mac - 1967
Created by Jim Delligatti at his Uniontown McDonald's, the Big Mac debuted and was test marketed in three other Pittsburgh-area McDonald's restaurants in 1967. By 1968 it was a mainstay on McDonald's menus throughout the country.
____________...BETTER THE WORLD ~ PAY IT FORWARD...

November 22, 1963 - Lyndon B. Johnson: First time a woman administered the oath of office (U.S. District Judge Sarah T. Hughes swore in Johnson on Air Force One).
____________...BETTER THE WORLD ~ PAY IT FORWARD...

Someone who habitually picks their nose is called a rhinotillexomaniac (rhino=nose, tillexis=habit of picking at something, mania=obsession with something).
____________...BETTER THE WORLD ~ PAY IT FORWARD...

In the West the most popular male names are James and John and the most popular female name is Mary. Many famous people, of course, don such names even if just for a non de plume.

A famous name of Scandinavian origin, and that means "all wise" was the real name of one of the most famous persons ever: Elvis.

It was at a concert in Minneapolis in 1954 that Al Dvorin first closed Elvis Presley's concerts with a saying that would become very well known: "Ladies and Gentleman, Elvis has left the building. Thank you and good night."